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Qass T^3^ 



cylTLANTA 

A TWENTIETH-CENTURY 

CITY 



The Illuminated Cover of this Pam- 
phlet is a Reproduction of the Famous 
Picture : : : : : : : : : 
"ATLANTA BY NIGHT" 
Published by Harper's Weekly in the 
Issue of October tenth, 1903. and 
here Presented by Courtesy of Harper 
& Brothers : : : : : : : : 



ISSUED BY THE 

cylTLANTA Chamber^ ^ Commerce 

NOVEMBER^, 1903 



FOOTE & DAVIES CO., PKJN I tKS ft«J llillyflv., A 1 LAN ,'A, oa', ', 4r4^2.' , 




,V1AY 20 1904 
D. of D, 



How Atlanta Grew. 




T 



HE Atlanta of to-day is a growth 
of thirty-eight years. Twice has 
the upbuilding of a city on this 
site demonstrated its natural advan- 
tages. Within a few years before the 
war Atlanta had become a bustling 
town of ii,ooo inhabitants, and during 
the three years which intervened be- 
fore its destruction the place was the 
seat of varied and important industries, 
whose principal object was to sustain 
the military operations of the Confederacy. It was also a depot for the 
distribution of supplies to the surrounding country and a forwarding 
station for the commissary department of the anii} . 

After its baptismi of fire in November, 1S64, when the inhabitants 
had been dispersed by the exigencies of war, and of more than 1,000 
houses only 300 remained, the city took a new start, and its great growth 
daites from that time. It is therefore, a city of the new regime, erected 
on the ruins of the old. 

The coat of arms of Atlanta fittingly typifies this remarkable his- 
tory. No city on the continent has survived such destruction. No 
city has twice attained prominence with such rapidity. Atlanta's 
foundation reaches back to the forties, and far-seeing men recognized 
it then as the place of promise, destined to be an important railroad-cen- 
ter and a seat of commerce. This conception, of the new city had been 
accepted as a true one when it was destroyed by fire, and since its 
new birth in reconstruction days the old spirit arose and lighted the new 
path of Atlanta to a greater destiny. 

The capital of the state was brought here from Milledgeville 
when the new city was hardly out of the ashes of war, and this gave a 
great impetus to its growth, which was further insured in 1877, when 
the people of Georgia voted to make Atlanta their capital. Its rapidly 
developing business and manufactures were brought to the attention 
of the whole country by the Cotton Exposition of 188 1, which was a 
point of departure for the tremendous development of the Southeast- 
ern States during tlie decade between 1880 and 1890. This develop- 
niient found a splendid illustration in the great Cotton States and In- 
ternational Exposition of 1895. 

The rapidity of the growth of Atlanta is illustrated by the fact 
that, since it was blotted from the map-, the city has spread over twelve 

3 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




STATE CAPITOL,. 



square miles of ground. Starting with no business in 1865, it received 
in 1902 four-tenths of the freight deHvered in Georgia, and its post- 
office receipts were four-tenths of those of the State. Thirty-seven 
years ago there was hardly a dollar to turn a trade; within the year 
just closed the bank clearings aggregated $131,000,000. At the begin- 
ning of this period there were only a few stragglers remaining in the 
wake of fire and sword. To-day there is a great city of near 100,000 
people, the business headquarters of 120,000, with a floating popula- 
tion of many thousands more. Fromi bare ground covered with ashes 
and ruins in 1865, the city has been built up to a value of $57,369,612, 
consisting largely of solid masses of brick and mortar, stone and steel, 
which go to make up a magnificent array of handsome business edi- 
fices. The number of houses has increased from 300 to 21,000. 

The question, wherefore Atlanta? naturally arises, for coinnumi- 
ties are not effects without causes. Atlanta is the result of a combi- 
nation of advantages, on a commanding geographical location, turned 
to the best account by a spirit of transcendent energy, which sur- 
mounts all obstacles and builds even on disaster the fabric of success. 
The growth of this unconquerable spirit has been promoted by a unity 
of purpose which has prevented the domination of factions. What- 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



ever local interests may clash, the good of Atlanta is always a rallying 
cry. The Atlanta spirit, which has accomplished so much in the up- 
building of the city itself, is happily contagious, and has nmch to do 
with making Georgia the Empire State of the South. The spirit of 
new life has spread from this to other Southern States which are the 
most active in the development of their resources, and the spirit of the 
Southeast is the spirit of Atlanta. 

For this moral and material eminence Atlanta is fortunately situ- 
ated on a ridge which divides the watershed of the Atlantic from that 
of the Gulf, and at a point where the natural barrier of the Appalachian 
chain is broken by great gaps in the mountains. This is the natural 
point of intersection for railway lines from the West with lines from 
the East. 

This geographical vantage ground is accompanied by a topo- 
v;Taphical eminence, from which the great climatic advantages of At- 
lanta are derived. More than i,ooo feet above sea-level at its lowest 
point, and from eleven to twelve hundred at other places, Atlanta en- 
joys a cool, bracing atmosphere, with breezes that blow over the foot- 
hills of the Blue Ridge. The exhilarating air is a kind of natural tonic, 
so different from that of the coast and Gulf regions that an inhabitant 
of the low countries, conning to Atlanta during the heated term, feels 
a stimulus as if he had been drinking great draughts of aerial cham- 
pagne. 'I"he rolling surface of the country, which slopes in almost 
every direction from the city affords easy drainage and keeps the sur- 
rounding region free from malaria. 

Atlanta's public buildings typify the solid character of her insti- 
tutions. Most conspicuous among them is the State capitol, which 
was erected at a cost of $1,000,000. This stately structure, the hotels, 
office buildings, theaters, churches, the custom-house, the county court- 
house, and other public edifices, make up an aggregate of ten millions 
invested in public buildings. 

Outside of public buildings, the architecture of Atlanta is of a 
pleasing character and has steadily improved during the past thirty 
years. Few cities in any part of the United States can show more 
attractive residence streets or architectural designs indicating more 
culture and good taste. Peachtree Street, the principal one for resi- 
dences, has a number of elegant homes wbich would be ornaments 
to any city. 

Atlanta is a citv of homes, and this is api^arent not only in the 
appearance of the houses, but in the statistics of the United States 
census, by which Atlanta is credited with a larger percentage of home- 
owners than any city of its size in the Southern States. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




KIMBALL HOUSE. 



The water-supply for domestic and niaiiufacturiiii^- purposes and 
for sanitary use is hardly equaled in any city of Atlanta's size, and the 
rates per thousand gallons for families or for manufacturing- purposes 
are merely nominal, and probably lower than any on record. 

Conditions in Atlanta are highly favorable to manufacturing in- 
dustries, and this is attested by the great variety of articles made 
here. There were in 1900 395 establishments, employing over 9,000 
operatives at good wages, and pouring into the channels of trade an 
annual pay-roll of $3,100,000. The value of the raw material con- 
sumed was more than $8,000,000 and the product between sixteen 
and seventeen millions. Since then the product has increased to $20.- 
000,000 and the number of wage earners to 11,000. 

The manufacturers of Atlanta in their variety have a gunranty of 
stability not to be found in those of any city where industry is con- 
fined to one family, as of iron or cotton, however important that may 
be, and the extent of this variety is to some degree indicated in the 
chapter on this subject. Among the articles made are many special- 
ties, for which there is a demand in almost everv wState in the UniiMi. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



and concerns making them have enjoyed prosperity through a long 
series of years. 

The trade of Atlanta covers more or less all of the States between 
the Ohio and Potomac rivers, the Gulf, the Atlantic ocean and the 
Mississippi River, and in some lines extends to the far Southwestern 
States and into Mexico, wdiile in a few it covers the entire country. 
The tendency of the jobbing trade of the Southeast is to concentrate 
in Atlanta, and little by little the business of other centers gravitates 
to this city. 

Atlanta's commanding geographical and topographical situation 
was, at the outset, one of the causes which led to the development of 
a great railroad center, at which powerful systems from the East, the 
West and the Southeast regularly compete. As a distributing point 
Atlanta enjoys facilities hardly equaled elsewhere in the Southeast- 
ern States, and as an accessible place of rendezvous for all kinds of 
organizations and interests, it is a favorite, and has come to be known 
as the Convention City. 

Atlanta's financial institutions are of the most solid character. 

Atlanta is the third city in the United States in the amount of 
insurance written and reported to agencies. It is the Southern head- 
quarters for a number of fire and life insurance companies, and agen- 
cies of old-line and every other type of insurance are numerous. 

The educational facilities of Atlanta are fully treated in a sep- 




ARAGON HOTEL 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




ililLLl ^^'?l??n Ml 












PIEDJIONT HOTEL. 



arate chapter, in which it appears that this city is ahreast of the times 
in this as in other respects. Atlanta early established a system of 
public schools, and before almost any city in the South, turned its 
attention to technical education. The Technological School was estab- 
lished by the State of Georgia upon inducements otTered by the city 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



of Atlanta, which bore half of the cost of the original plant, and con- 
tributes regularly to the support of the institution. There is ample 
opportunity here for technical instruction of other kinds, and Atlanta 
has three medical colleges, whose attendance averages 600, to say 
nothing of the students of the dental colleges. Technical instruction 
in business methods is not neglected, and several large and flourishing 
business colleges have maintained themselves here for many years. 

The religious and social atmosphere of Atlanta is wholesome and 
invigorating. It is a city of churches and the home of church-going 
people, and the community is honey-combed with fraternal organizations. 

The social intercourse of the people, as well as the facility for 
doing business, is greatly aided by an ideal system of rapid transit, 
not only from the residence and suburban sections to the center, but 
from one residence portion to another. The neighborly spirit is en- 
hanced by the nearness thus artificially created. 

With all these advantages, and many which appear more fully in 
subsequent chapters, Atlanta has a wholesome and inspiring public 
spirit which never fails to respond when the interests of the city are 
at stake. This is perhaps the most distinctive thing about Atlanta. 




GRANT S PARK. 



The New Atlanta. 



Population, Jirea and Government. 

ATLANTA'S population is estimated at loo.ooo. By the census of 
1900 it was 89,872. The census of 1880 gave Atlanta a popula- 
*■ tion of 39,000, and by the city assessment of the next year the 
real estate \yas valued at $14,721,883 and the personal property at $7,- 
474,258. By 1890 the population had grown to 65,000 and real estate 
was valued at $39,729,894. In the sanue period personal property grew 
to $11,906,605. The decade between 1880 and 1890 was a period during 
which Atlanta made remarkable advance, but during the great depression 
through which the whole country has passed since 1890 the progress of 
this city has been astonishing. In spite of a somewhat lower scale of valu- 
ation for suburban real estate, the assessor's report for 1902 showed realty 
valued at $43,597,813, and personalty $13,771,799. This value was cre- 
ated in thirty-five years, for Atlanta cam<e out of the Civil War naked 
and desolate. 

By census taken in 1900 the population of Atlanta, by wards, was 
found to be as follows : 

First Ward I5>596 

Second Ward 14,628 

Third Ward .... 12,943 

Fourth Ward 17,072 

Fifth Ward 12,415 

Sixth Ward 14-754 

Seventh Ward 2,464 

Total 89,872 

Since then the population has increased to 100,000. 

Jirea and Expansion. 

Atlanta is a city of magnificent distances, covering about eleven 
square miles. With abundance of room and fresh air, the circular form; 
of the city makes it compact, and the residence portions are, as a rule, 
equidistant from, the business center. The corporate line is described by 
a radius of a mile and three-quarters. In two places this circle is ex- 
panded to take in suburban communities which had been formed with 
irregular boundaries before the circular corporation line reached them. 
These are Imiian Park and West End, which extend from half a mile to 
a mile beyond the circle which elsewhere forms the corporate limits. 

Atlanta is situated on rolling ground, which gives every facility 
for drainage and contributes materially to the effectiveness of the 

10 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



II 




CENTURY BUILDING. 



elaborate system of sewers. This rolling" country extends in every di- 
rection, and suburban communities are rapidly extending-. The elec- 
tric lines reach out for six or eight miles on all sides of the city, and 
afiford quick and cheap access for the outlying towns. As a result 
of this elaborate system] of rapid transit, there has been a remarkable 



12 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




PKUDEXTIAL AAD EMl'lKE BUILDINUS. 

expansion of the city within the past ten years, and the pressure on 
the center has been greatly reHeved. It is estimated tliat the suburban 
trains and street-car systems of Atlanta bring in and carry out 30,000 
people a day. 

City Government. 

The city government of Atlanta is administered by a IMayor and 
General Council and Executive Boards. The legislative body is com- 
posed of councilmen from the different wards, elected by the whole 
city, and aldermen who are elected in a like manner. The aldermen 
and councilmen vote separately on matters invc^lving the expenditure 
of money, and the concurrence of both bodies is necessary to an appro- 
priation. The Mayor has the usual veto power. 

The tax rate is one and a quarter per cent, and the ratio of assess- 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City 



13 



ment to real value of property is about sixty per cent. The assessed 
value of real and personal property is $57,369,612. 

The city owns property valued at nine millions, and has a bonded 
debt of $3,081,500. Deducting the Sinking Fund of $210,695.18, the 
net debt is $2,879,804.82. There is no floating debt, and the bonded 
debt is limited by the State Constitution to seven per cent, on the taxable 
value of the property. The net debt is therefore $1,000,000 under the 
limit. 

The Charter requires the Mayor and General Council to carry over 
.a balance of $175,000 in cash from year to year. This keeps the Treasury 
in good condition and the city is able to float three and one-half per cent, 
bonds at par and above. 

There is a Sinking Fund Commiission, which was created by a special 
act of the Legislature, and the Mayor and General Council are required 
to set aside each year from the revenues of the city an amount sufficient 
to retire the bonded debt within thirty years. 

The expenditures of the city for the year 1902 were $2,188,118.75. 
In the same period, the revenues and other receipts, including bonds, 
the proceeds of which were expended, were $1,632,703.63. The dififer- 
cnce is accounted for by a balance carried over from the previous year. 

Police. 

Atlanta has a fine Police Department, divided into three watches of 
«ight hours each. It has valuable auxiliaries in the mounted men and the 
iDicycle corps, numbering forty men. 

There is a fine central station, which cost $100,000, and a Police 
signal system with telephone connections. The expenditures of the 
Department during 1902 amounted to $144,029.39. 

Fire Protection- 

Atlanta has a model Fire Department, well equipped with modern 
apparatus, and supplied with water at fire pressure from the pumping- 
station of the waterworks. In 1902 the Department cost $123,205.82; 
the number of fires was 469 and the value of buildings and contents at 
risk $3,350,779. The dam:age was $408,592. 

The average fire loss for seventeen years was $152,633. 

Sanitary Department. 

Atlanta spent $111,611.04 on sanitation in 1902, and about 250 men 
were employed under the Board of Health in keeping the city clean. 
There are the usual precautions in infectious and contagious diseases. 



H 



Atlanta— A Twentieth-Century City. 




EQUITABLE BUILDING. 

TlT;e scwer-system of the city was constructed on a plan designed by 
Rudolph Hering-, of New York. 

Mortuary Record. 

The deaths from diseases in Atlanta during 1902 were 2,071, of whicK 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 15 



979 were of white people and 1,092 of colored. The population within 
the corporate limits in the census year was 89,872. In 1902 it was 
estimated at 100,000. This makes the rate of mortality 20.71. Of the 
population in 1902, it is estimated that 40,000 were colored and 60,000 
were white, which makes the rate of mortality 27.3 for colored and 16.31 
for white. 

Waterworks. 

The Waterworks Department of Atlanta has one of the best plants 
in the country and furnishes pure water at the nominal price of ten 
cents per thousand gallons for domestic consumption. Liberal rates are 
made to manufacturers, and even at the low prices charged, the Depart- 
ment pays a handsome net revenue to the city. 

The works have a daily pumping capacity of 30,000,000 gallons. 
The actual consumption now is 8,966,000 gallons per day. There are 
two 15,000,000 gallon engines, so that if one is out of order the other 
can keep up the supply. The supply comes from the Chattahoochee 
River, above the city, and above the mouth of the Peachtree Creek. The 
river comes down from the mountain section, which is sparsely settled, 
and so far, the supply is satisfactory. The water is perfectly clear, and 
comes through a settling basin and filters. 

Sewers. 

In addition to the amount disbursed by the Sanitary Department, 
the city spent $61,044.93 the same year in constructing sewers. 

Streets. 

During 1902 Atlanta spent $177,514 on streets. Since 1880 the city 
has spent, $3,827,171 on streets, sewers and sidewalks. There are 
■63.39 miles of paved streets, 227.17 miles of paved sidewalks, and 
100.47 miles of sewers. There are six miles of asphalt streets and sev- 
eral miles of vitrified brick. The rest is paved with granite blocks, 
chert and macadam. 

Boulevards. 

Atlanta has some beautiful streets for driving. Peachtree, Wash- 
ington, Whitehall and Peters Streets and Capitol Avenue are paved 
with asphalt, and this smooth surface makes a fine speedway. White- 
hall and Peachtree Streets, connecting at the viaduct, form a con- 
tinuous asphalt boulevard three and one-half miles long. This is con- 
nected north of the city with a macadam pike to Buckhead, and south 
of the city with a chert road to 'College Park, six miles beyond the 
city limits. This forms a continuous boulevard fifteen miles long in a 



i6 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




GRAND OPERA HOUSE. 



north and south Hne, with a smooth surface, which is well adapted to 
carriages, bicycles and automobiles. 

Prominent Structures. 

Atlanta has many handsome buildings, notable among which are the 
State Capitol, the new Court-House, the Carnegie Library, of white 
marble, the Grand Opera House, the seven great fire-proof office build- 
ings, and the beautiful Piedmont Hotel, which is also a fire-proof struc- 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 17 



ture. The Federal Prison, three miles out, is one of the most important 
in the United States. There are several other large hotels, notably the 
Kimball, the Aragon, the Majestic and the Marion. 

The value of buildings erected in 1902 was reported by the City 
Building Inspector as $1,868,503, and the number of permits issued was 
2,818. A marked increase in the average value of dwellings was noted. 
Following is a list of the office-buildings for which Atlanta is famous. 
They make the heart of Atlanta look like the lower part of Manhattan 
Island. Each has a steel frame, with non-conbustible partitions, every 
modern convenience, and a costly interior finish of marble and 
hard-wood. The elevator and janitor service is first-class, and the lava- 
tories, barber shops and restaurants are well placed. The ground floor 
in a majority of these buildings is occupied by banks, whose offices are 
superbly finished. The population of these palatial hives of industry 
amounts to several thousand, and the facilities they offer for doing 
business are unequalled elsewhere in the Southern States. 

List of Fire^Proof Office Buildings. 

Equitable Building, eight stories. 

English-American Building, eleven stories. 

Austell Building, nine stories. 

Prudential Building, ten stories. 

Empire Building, fourteen stories. 

Peters Building, eight stories. 

Century Building, twelve stories. 

The aggregate cost of these seven structures, exclusive of the land 
on which they rest, was $2,500,000. They are all occupied, and another 
fire-proof building fourteen stories high has been projected. 

The Building Inspector's record shows that in the seven years since 
the Exposition of 1895, buildings to the value of $12,094,000 have been 
erected. In the same period 3,643 dwellings built house a new popula- 
tion of 20,000. Since the census of 1900 new dwellings number 1,640. 

Carwheel Works. 

The Atlanta Carwheel & Manufacturing Company has, on the 
Southern Railway belt line near the waterworks pumping-station, an 
extensive plant for the manufacture of steam-railroad and street-car 
wheels. 

The site covers nine acres and the main building is 230 by 118 
feet, with several annexes. The works employ 100 to 150 men, and this 
is one of the largest establishm'cnts of its kind in the country. 



Business. 



ATLANTA'S BUSINESS 
GROWS FOUR TIMES AS 
FAS! AS THE POPULA- 
TION, AND THE POPU- 
LATION GROV/S TWICE 
AS FAST AS THE AVER- 
AGE OF THE UNITED 
S TA TES. POSTAL RE- 
CEIPTS ON ITS NEWSPA- 
PERS EXCEED THOSE 
OF BALTIMORE, BROOK- 
LYN, BUFFALO, OMAHA 
OR NEW ORLEANS. : : 



estimated as follows : 

Groceries 

Hardware 

Liquor 

Drugs 

Dry goods and Shoes 
Miscellaneous 



ATLANTA is the business 
/\ center of the Southeast. 
^ * Almost all the great con- 
cerns of national extent make this 
city their Southern headquarters, 
and this has created the phenom- 
enal demand for offices. As a re- 
sult, Atlanta has more tall fire-proof 
steel-frame oflrice-buildings than 
any other Southern 'City. 

Atlanta's business is indicated 
by the bank clearings, which were 
$131,000,000 for the year 1902. 
In 1894 they were $56,000,000. 
This shows more clearly than 
words the rapid growth of the 
city as a business center. 

From the latest available data, 
the wholesale trade of Atlanta is 



.$10,000,000 

4,000,000 

700,000 

1,000,000 

, 10,000,000 
5,000,000 



Retail Trade 



$30,700,000 
. 15,000,000 



$45, 700,000 
Fuel Trade. 

Soft Coal $ 1,500,000 

Hard Coal 75,ooo 

Coke 30,000 

Wood 25,000 



$ 1,630,000 
Horses and Mules. 

John A. Miller estimates the movement for the year, September 
1902, to September., 1903, as follows : 



Cars 


Head 


Value 


2,500 


62,500 
18 


$7,000,000 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



19 




^%#t^ 



GRADY HOSPITAL. 

Manufactures. 

The United States census for 1900 gives the following information 
concerning the mianufactures of Atlanta : 

Number of establishments 395 

Capital $16,085,114 

Wage-earners 9,368 

Wages paid $ 3,106,039 

Value of product 16,721,899 

Atlanta's principal manufacturing establishments are in cotton, 
iron, machinery, lumber, sheet metal, terra cotta, brick, fertilizer, 
wagons, carriages, furniture, candy and crackers, cigars, cofifiins, chem- 
icals, printing, lithographing, electrotyping, stamping, paper and paper 
bags, flour and meal, paints, varnish, cottonseed oil and cake, ice, har- 
ness, belts, hosiery, underwear, neckwear, woolen goods, gins, engines, 
sash, doors and blinds, mantels, iron beds, spring beds, trunks, desks, 
tables, pickles, condiments, baking powder, bread and cakes, clothing, 
overalls, millinery, suspenders, picture-frames and moulding. 

In monev value, cotton goods and fertilizers lead the list. There are 
three large cotton factories, and Atlanta is headquarters for tlTe Vir- 
ginia-Carolina Chemical Company, the largest producer of fertilizers 
in the South. It is also the headquarters of several large sawmill 
companies. 







THE HEA r 




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OF ATLANTA. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



Atlanta Banks. 

The clearings and deposits of the associated banks of Atlanta are 
reported as follows by Mr. Darwin G. Jones, manager of the Atlanta 
Clearing House Association : 

CLEARINGS BY YEARS. 

1894 $ 56,589,228.04 

1895 65,318,254.71 

1896 69,026,033.17 

1897 72,005,161.52 

1898 71,964,809.03 

1899 83,058,397.11 

1900 96,375,251.22 

1901 111,755,849.98 

1902 131,200,457.25 

These reports show that business has doubled in seven years. 

Deposits December 1st Each Year. 

i 

The deposits of the Clearing House banks of Atlanta at the end of 
the week nearest December ist of each year, are reported by Manager 
Jones as follows : 

1893 $ 3>977.930-98 

1894 4,779.640.99 

1895 6,672,006.87 

1896 5>957,634-5i 

1897 6,385,336.51 

1898 6,756,991.36 

1899 7,764,990.85 

1900 9,011,902.85 

1901 11,080,127.68 

1902 12,935,639.60 



.^.. >"!«•' 



wf^^^m 



IKSiSSI 




SWIFT FERTILIZKK WORKS. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




JEWISH ORPHAKAGE. 

Government 'Receipts in the Southeast. 

One of the facts indicating the greatness of the territory, of which 
Atlanta is the center, is the Government receipts in the Southeast. 

The receipts of the Federal Government through internal revenue, 
customs, duties and Presidential Post-offices is stated as follows, in the 
latest official reports : 

Alabama $ 1,109,849.00 

Florida 2,540,449.08 

Georgia 1,133,460.03 

Tennessee 3,449,646.82 

North Carolina 7,644,756.21 

South Carolina 671,536.71 

Total $16,549,699.85 

Growth of Postal Business. 

The growth of business is strikingly shown by the postal receipts 
for the year ending June 30th, 1890, 1894 and 1902: 

1890 $ 159.262.61 

1894 201,649.92 

1902 415,392.04 

Comparison with other cities, by various barometers of trade and 
industry, indicates that Atlanta does more business than any city of 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



100,000 population in the United States. As a newspaper center it is 
phenomenal. The receipts from second-class mail matter at Atlanta 
were $44,064.76 during the year ending June 30, 1902. This shows 
that on newspapers and periodicals Atlanta pays the Government more 
than Brooklyn, Baltimore, Buffalo, Washington, Omaha, New 
Orleans, Touisville, or Indianapolis. 

The receipts of the Atlanta Post-office for the year ending June 30, 
1902, were $415,546.14, an increase of sixteen per cent, on the receipts 
of the preceding year. 

Insurance. 

Atlanta is the third insurance center of the United States, and easily 
first in the South. 

The receipts of premiums reported to agencies here are estimated 
at $8,000,000, about equally divided between fire and life insurance. 

Atlanta is the headquarters of the Southeastern Tariff Association. 
There are no burdensome insurance laws in this State and taxes are 
reasonable. 

Cotton. 

Atlanta is the center of large cotton operations, and receives about 
T 75.000 bales annually. There are several large warehouses and com- 



0^r 




■JLJtf^l^KKSt^XKSIiKi^milf'' 



JEWISH TEMPLE. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



2? 














ff.f'pVlf) 






WnUS J!. BEf3Hy,j4BCHJ'T£€X 




FIRST METHODIST CHURCH. 



presses. The ten lines of railroads give ample facilities for collecting 
the crop from, adjoining territory and forwarding it overland to eastern 
mills or to the coast for export. Both of the Round Bale Companies 
are represented in this city. 

Transportation. 

Atlanta is the railroad center of the Southeast. Ten radiating lines 
furnish ample facilities for distribution of manufactures and mier- 
chandise from this point. Five of these lines belong to the Southern- 
Railway. 

Here is a list of the lines : 

Southern to Washington. 

Southern to Knoxville. 

Southern to Birmingham. 

Southern to Fort Valley. 

Southern to Brunswick. 



26 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




CARNEGIE LIBRARY. 



Georgia Railroad to Augusta. 

Seaboard Air Line to Portsmouth. 

Western & Atlantic to Chattanooga. 

Atlanta & West Point to Montgomery. 

Central of Georgia Railway to Savannah. 
The Connections of these make many more routes over which there 
are through trains, as for example, to Columbus and Albany. 

The Southern Railway, Central of Georgia Railway, and Atlanta 
and West Point Railway have let the contract for a union passenger sta- 
tion at the corner of Mitchell and Madison streets, and will spend about 
a million dollars on the structure. Altogether they will spend two mil- 
lions on the station and terminal facilities connected with it. 

Atlanta's hotel accommodations are superior to those of almost any 
^ther city in the South. The Piedmont is a fire proof building of the best 
class, with steel frame. The Kimball, the Aragon, the Majestic, and the 
Marion have long enjoyed an eviable reputation with the traveling public. 
There are numerous smaller hotels and any number of boarding-houses. 
Atlanta is the stop-over point for the Florida winter travel, both going 
and coming, and is rapidly becoming a summjer resort by reason of its 
elevation, bracing atmosphere, and cool climate. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



27 



The l^adius of Distribution. 

Atlanta's advantages as a distributing" point arc shown by the cen- 
tral location with reference to Southeastern towns. There are seventy- 
nine towns of exceeding 4,000 population in Alabama, North Carolina 
South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. The average distances of 
these towns by States from Atlanta, Savannah and Nashville are as 
follows : 

ATLANTA SAVANNAH NASHVILLE 

Alabama 195 miles 419 miles 269 miles 

North 'Carolina 400 miles 352 miles 629 miles 

South Carolina 239 miles 193 miles 526 miles 

Georgia 147 miles 233 miles 386 miles 

Mississippi 423 miles 606 miles 440 miles 

1,404 miles 1,803 i^^iles 2,250 miles 

Average distance of towns 

in five States 280.8 miles 360.6 miles 450 miles 




COUKT HOUSE — FKU.M THE SOUTH. 



28 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



Street I^ailways. 

Atlanta has a fine svstem of street railways, with one hundred and 
forty-two miles of track radiating from the heart of the city to the 
residence portion and thence to the suburbs. In son:e directions they 
reach out for eight miles, as in the case of College Park, D'ecatur and 
the Chattahoochee River. 

The service is excellent, and there are one hundred miles of tracks 
Avithin the city limits. The uniform fare is five cents, but there are 
transfers from incoming lines to any part of the city. Almost any spot 
on a car line, within the city limits, can be reached from any other 
pomt inside the city for one fare. 

There is ample service to all the parks and resorts, and an electric 
hne to Marietta is chartered. 

Light and Power. 

Atlanta is Avell supplied with gas at a low figure — $i.oo per thou- 
sand ^uric feet. It is so economical that gas stoves are very largely 
used for cooking purposes and not a few for heating. 




LAKE ABANA — GUAN'i'S PARK. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



29 




VAN WINKLE GIN AN» MACIIINEKY CO. 

The Georgia Railway and Electric Company has two large plants 
for the generation of electric current for light and power. The city is 
well illuminated by arc lights and electricity is largely used by business 
ofnccs and residences. 

The same coni-pany has a stovim-hedting- plant, and pipes have been 
laid in the principal streets for this service. 



Great Power Plant, 

The Atlanta Water and Electric Power Company has i)cen at work 
since August 1902, on a massive nDasonry dami across the Chatta- 
hoochee River, at Bull Sluice shoals, fifteen miles from Atlanta. They 
had expended $300,000 by February, 1903, and by the middle of 1904 
the plant will be completed and equipped to deliver 11,000 horse-power 
of electric current in Atlanta. The total investment will be $2,000,- 
000. The power plant will give a tremendous stimulus tio manu- 
facturing. Already the assurance of this power has called into ex- 
istence two iiTiammoth new enterprises, not yet known to the public, 
which will use a third of the electric current thus made available. 
Smaller industries in sight increase the demand to half the new power, 
fifteen months before the current can be turned on. There is hardly 
a doubt that the wdiole of the 11,000 horse-power will be taken by the 
time it is ready for use. 

As the steam and electric powers already in existence furnish 45,- 
000 horse-pov.-er, which is in constant use, the addition of 11,000 horse- 



30 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 




SOUTIIERX FEMALE COLLEGE. 



power within two years will increase the manufacturing industries 
of Atlanta by twenty-five per cent. This is considered a very moder- 
ate estimate; for within the two and a half years following the census 
of June, 1900, the product of Atlanta factories increased from $16,721,- 
000 to $27,417,000, and the number of wage earners from 9,368 to more 
than 11,000. 

Another power plant is under construction at Randals Shoals on the 
Chattahoochee. 

Ilapid Growth of Business. 

The business of Atlanta is growing four times as fast as its popula- 
tion, although the population grows twice as fast as that of the 
country. The rate of increas : in population for the United States has 
been two per cent, per annum during the past decade. In Atlanta, it 
has been approximately four per cent. During the year 1902, the' 
business of Atlanta increased sixteen per cent, as measured by postal 
receipts and eighteen per cent, as measured by bank clearings. Since 
ihe Exposition of 1895, bank clearings have doubled and bank de"- 
])Osits have nearly trebled. 

Chamber of Commerce. 

During the thirty years of their existence the 'Chamber of Com- 
merce, and its predecessor, the Board of Trade, have been active in 
protecting and promoting the interests of Atlanta. A^eetings in the 
public interest have usually been called at the Chamber of Comimerce, 
and it was there that the first meeting to organize the Cotton States 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



31 



and International Exposition was held. All important questions 
affecting business have been discussed there and a score or so of stand- 
ing committees have been constituted by the Chamber to look after 
the interests of Atlanta. The Chamber of Commerce is the open forum 
for the discussion of all matters which affect the general welfare of 
the community, and in this way the organization has exerted a pow- 
erful influence. 

The present officers are : 

J. K. Orr, President ; E. C. Peters, Vice-President ; Walter G. 
Cooper, Secretary, and A. L. Kontz, Treasurer. 

Daily ^{ewspapers, 

Atlanta has three daily newspapers. The Constitution, a morning 
paper, acquired national reputation under the management of Henry 
W. Grady, and has continued under the management of Clark Howell 
to hold a leading position among the newspapers of Amierica. 

The Atlanta Journal is a large afternoon paper which acquired na- 
tional reputation under the management of Hoke Smith, and has con- 
tinued to grow under the management of Jamfes R. Gray. 

The third daily newspaper is the Atlanta News, a penny afternoon 
paper organized during the summer of 1902. It appeared August 4th 
and rapidly acquired a large circulation. A bright future is predicted. 
Editors, John Temple Graves and Charles Daniel ; Busin.ess Manager, 
J. F. Beck. 




WATER WORKS PUMPING STATION. 




TECHNOLOGICAL SCHOOL. 



Educational Facilities. 



ATLANTA has an imposing array of educational institutions, ex- 
tending from the pubHc school system to the great polytechnic 
^ institute known as the Georgia Institute of Technology. There 
is a variety of technical schools, including law, medicine, dentistry, 
handicrafts, business colleges, industrial schools and divinity schools. 

There are sixteen white and six colored Grammar schools, a Girls' 
High School, a Boys' High School, and a night school. The total ex- 
penditure for these institutions during the year 1901 was $186,475.50. 
The cost per pupil was $15.49, and the number of pupils 12,000. 

There is the usual organization of Superintendent, Assistant Super- 
intendent, principal and teachers, under a Board of Education. 

The teachers meet in normal class once a week, and many of them 
spend their vacations at summier schools of the great universities. 
There is a fine esprit de corps, and excellent work is done. 

Atlanta's great educational institution is the Georgia Institute of 
Technology, supported by the State of Georgia, with an additional an- 
uual appropriation from the city. It has about 400 students, and the 
work is the best of its kind in the South. There are machine shops in 
wood and in the metals, a blacksmith shop, a textile school, and depart- 
ments of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. In addi- 
tion there is excellent work in mathematics, chemistry, and the other 
scientific schools, with a good education in English. 

Graduates of this institution have been distinguished for the thor- 
oughness and the practical value of their education, which has enabled 
them to gO' from the shops and recitation-rooms directly into manufac- 
turing and engineering pursuits. 

A number of them hold very high and responsilile positions in the 
management of great enterprises, and almost without exception, the 
graduates hold good positions in productive industry. 

There are 600 students attending the medical colleges of Atlanta. 

The Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons is one of the best 
equipped in the country, and its course is very thorough. It has a very 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



33 



large attendance from all parts of the Southern States, and some from 
beyond that territory. 

The Eclectic College of Medicine and Surgery is also well attended. 

The Dental College holds a position of eminence among institutions 
of that kind. 

The members of the Medical and Dental professions of the city rank 
high. 

There are several excellent institutions for the education of girls, 
notably the Agnes Scott Institute, the Southern Female College and 
the Washington Seminary. 

The Southern Military College is an excellent institution for boys, 
and Hunter's School for boys has a fine reputation. 

The people of Atlanta have raised $250,000 which will be tendered 
the Synods of the Southern Presbyterian Church, to secure the location 
of a $1,000,000 University in the city or its immediate suburbs. 

Of the amount subscribed, $150,000 comes from Presbyteria>ns and 
$100,000 from the public, including all classes and almost all religious 
denominations. Of the $100,000 contributed by the public, about $25,000 
came from working mien and salaried employees of business houses. In 
some cases even domestic servants contributed. In all there are about 
3,000 subscribers for amounts ranging from 10 cents to $25,000. At a 
great mass meeting held in the Grand Opera Hiouse, Monday evening, 
March 30th, $50,000 was raised. 

The Carnegie Library. 

The Carnegie Library, built of white marble, at a cost of $120,000, 
and supplied with 20,000 volum;es, is one of the best of Atlanta's insti- 
tutions. It has a circulation of 11,000 and any citizen can secure 
books without charge. 

The library began as the "Young Men's Library," a subscription 
institution, which acquired most of the books now on the shelves. Sev- 
eral years ago Mr. x4;ndrew Carnegie gave the city of Atlanta $100,000 
to erect a building for the library, provided that the city would maintain it 
with an annual expenditure of not less than $5,000. The conditions of 




COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 



34 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



the gift were complied with, and the new building was erected near 
Peachtree street, and the Young Men's Library was merged in the 
Carnegie Library. 

Since then Mr. Carnegie has added $45,000 to his gift, of which 
$20,000 was for the building and $25,000 for furnishings. 

The State Library .has a large collection of law books, and a rare 
collection of colonial history of this and other Southern States. 

Institutions for Alegro Education. 

Atlanta has some of the largest institutions for negro education in 
the country. They are : Atlanta University, Clark University, Gam- 
mon Theological Seminary, the Atlanta Baptist College, Morris Brown 
College, and Spellman Seminary. 

The Spellman Seminary has a fine training school for nurses, and 
industrial training for women. 

Clark University has industrial training for men. 

Theatres. 

Atlanta has two fine theatres — the Grand and the Bijou. 

The Atlanta Lecture Association is one of the best in the United 
States, and regularly brings the best talent of the country to the At- 
lanta platform. Its nuembership is about 1,000. The Baptist Taber- 
nacle has a lyceum course. 




AGNES SCOTT INSTITUTE 



llesidential Advantages, 




I 



s. M. inman's residence. 



T is hard to enu- 
merate the advan- 
tages of life in 
Atlanta. They are so 
many that it is im- 
possible to catalogue 
them all in brief 
space. The climate 
is the best enjoyed by 
any city in the 
country, the spirit of 
the people makes 
anyone welcome who 
is worthy of a wel- 
come anywhere, and 
culture, enjoyment 

for the preserva- 
The frater- 



the opportunities for business, education, 

and social pleasure unsurpassed. The institutions 

tion of order, sanitation and public comfort are excellent 

nities are numerously represented, and fraternity life is a feature of 

the city's many attractions. 

Visitors from a distance are always charmed with the residence 
streets of Atlanta. The homes are made attractive by grassy lawns, 
which beautify the scene and avoid the heat of those cities where solid 
blocks of flats rise directly from, the sidewalk. 

There are many beautiful suburbs which are easily and quickly 
reached by the car lines, and these are constantly extending. Atlanta 
has a fine market, supplied at all times with fish, game and vegetables, 
and an abundance of fresh meats. The shops and stores are up-to-date, 
and conducted in metropolitan style. 

The Climate. 

Atlanta is on the crest of the ridge dividing the watershed of the 
Atlantic Ocean from that of the Gulf of Mexico, and its elevation of 
1,052 feet gives a bracing atmosphere. The mean annual temperature, 
based on all available records, is 60.8 degrees. The highest annual 
mean was 64.0 in 1871, preceded by the lowest, 56.9, in 1868. Tjhe 
mean temperature of the winter months is 44.1, of the spring months, 
60.5, of the summer, 77.0. and of thee autumn, 61.5. The highest monthly 
mean was 82.2, in July, 1857, the lowest, 34.4. in February, 1895 

35 



36 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



The wannest winter month was December, 1889, with a mean of 57.2; 
the coolest smnmer month was June, 1866, mean, 68.9. The highest 
temperature on record is 100, which occurred on July 19, 1887, ^^^^ is 
the only instance of its kind. The lowest temperature on record is 
— 8.5, on February 13, 1899. The temperature has registered at zero, 
or below, but on three other dates in the last twenty-three years, viz : — 
— I, January 6, 1884; — 2, January 11, 1886, and zero February 8, 1895. 
Summier nights are cool and the low percentage of humidity naakes 
the days comfortable. The average date of first killing frost is Novem- 
ber 4th, and of the last in spring, March 29th, leaving an average 
growing season of 219 days. 

Monthly Mean Temperatures. 

The average monthly temperature for each month, as shown by the 
record of many years, is given below 



January 42.6 

February 45.7 

March 51.7 

April 60.9 

May 69.0 

June 75.6 



July 78.6 

August 76.9 

September 71.7 

October 61.5 

November 51.4 

December 44. i 



Annual averaee 60.8 




WASHINGTON STREET. 



Atlanta — A Twentieth-Century City. 



37 



^ainfaU[,by Months 

The normal pre- 
cipitation by months 
by the Weather Bu- 
reau : 

January 5.10 inch- 
es, February 5.23 
March 5.65, April 
4.23, May 3.38, June 
4.04, July 4.22, Au- 
gust 4.58, September 
3.51, October 2.36, 
November 3.49, De- 
cember 4.29. 

The annual averj- 
age rainfall is 50.08. 

Parks. 

Atlanta has sev- 
eral fine parks and 
places of resort. 

The L.' P. Grant 
Park, on the edge of 
the city near a battle- 
field of 1864, is a sylvan retreat of rare beauty, with a Zoo and Cyclo- 
rama added to the attractions of nature. It is the resort of picnic parties 
from the surrounding towns for many miles. 

Piedmont Park, the site of fairs and expositions, is in the suburbs, 
half a mile beyond the city limits, on one of the battle-grounds of the 
Civil War. It has a lake and a picturesque site, with a number of large 
buildings. 

Lakewood, as its name suggests, affords opportunity for aquatic 
sports. The same is true of East Lake, where there is elaborate pro- 
vision for bathing. Ponce de Leon Springs, within the city limits, and 
the Chattahoochee River, eight miles out, are places of resort. 

The Kirkwood Land Company has in preparation one of the most 
beautiful residence parks in America, and Atkins Park will be another 
place of loveliness. 

To all these parks and places of resort there is an excellent street- 
car service. The exposition grounds at Piedmont Park also have con- 
nection with the city by the Southern Railway. 

Fort McPherson. 

An Army post is always an attraction because of the parades and 
the music, and its disbursements add materially to a city's income. 




CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



38 



Atlanta^ — A Twentieth-Century City. 



Fort McPherson, four miles out on the Central of Georgia Railway and 
two car lines, is one of the best-constructed posts in the United States 
and much visited by citizens. 

It is a cominunity in itself, with an independent waterworks systemi 
and a complete system of sewerage. There are permanent barracks, 
ample for one regiment, and during the Spanish War several thousand 
soldiers were quartered here at one time by using wooden barracks in 
addition. The officers' quarters are unusually good, and there is a well- 
appointed hospital. 

Hospitals. 

In the Grady Hospital Atlanta has a large and well-equipped insti- 
tution supported by the city. There are in addition, St. Joseph's In- 
firmary and the Presbyterian Hjospital, besides a number of excellent 
sanatoriums conducted by physicians, notably those of Drs. Elkin 
and Cooper, Dr. Noble and Dr. Robinson, the Halcyon and the Na- 
tional Surgical Institute. 

Churches. 

Atlanta has 131 churches and the attendance on religious services is 
one of the noticeable features of the city's life. This city is headquar- 




CAPITOIv AVENUE— VIEW FKOM WOODWARD AVENUE. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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